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GPS, bus passes to show where St. Vrain Valley School District students get on, off school buses

By Victoria A.F. CamronLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
01/05/2013 07:26:38 PM MST

Updated:
01/06/2013 04:13:25 PM MST

Jace Schirrmacher, center, boards the bus after the end of the day at Legacy Elementary School in Frederick on Thursday. With the use of a GPS-enhanced tracking system and coordinated bus passes, the district will be able to tell when and where students get on and off school buses in case of a missing child.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

LONGMONT -- About every other school day, a St. Vrain Valley School District student goes missing after school.

Those kids turn up, often at friends' houses, but not before parents justifiably worry, and school and law-enforcement officials spend time and resources trying to find them.

With the use of a GPS-enhanced tracking system and coordinated bus passes, the district will be able to tell when and where students got on and off school buses.

Transportation director Randy McKie said the school district will not monitor the students but will use the system only when a student is reported missing.

"We can immediately know where we can start looking for that child," he said during the December school board meeting. "Seconds count in that situation. This would give us instant information."

Boulder County Sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough said the technology would be of particular help when looking for elementary school students.

"It sounds like it will be a great tool for law enforcement," Brough said. The sheriff's office investigates missing students from Niwot, Lyons and unincorporated areas of Boulder County.

When a child is reported missing, law enforcement agencies take the matter seriously and put several officers on the case, he said.

"It is very time intensive," Brough said.

St. Vrain's Board of Education members approved the purchase of the tracking system at the Dec. 12 meeting. School board president John Creighton voted against the purchase, and board director Rod Schmidt was absent from the meeting.

The district is negotiating with Zonar Systems for the GPS system, which costs $131,540. The district received a $17,229 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Regional Air Quality Council that will be applied to the cost, leaving the district to pay $114,311.

Tatiana Lee boards the bus after the end of the day at Legacy Elementary School in Frederick on Thursday.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

McKie said on Thursday that he hopes to begin installing the hardware on school buses in the spring and start using the system before the end of the school year. Students who are authorized to ride buses will receive bus passes that they will scan as they enter and exit the buses.

Parents will be able to sign up for email or text alerts to let them know when their children get on or off their buses, McKie said. Parents will have to pay for that service, but the cost is not yet available.

Creighton doesn't object to the tracking system, and he said Thursday that the safety features have merit. However, he said he wants school board members to discuss the effects on students of being constantly monitored.

Already, parents can set up Infinite Campus -- an online system that records student attendance and grades -- to be notified every time a teacher adds a grade, he said.

He also is concerned that technology such as the tracking system can create a false sense of security, he said.

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